Comments:
• I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It is a really cute grumpy old man story and was funny. – Sarah
• I enjoyed this book. It was sweet and kept my interest – a little unbelievable – but still OK with me. – Steph
• Fast and easy read. Feel good story. Predictable but fun. – Carrie
• I found some of the characters interesting but didn’t love the overall story. – Shannon
• Very fast enjoyable read. I found the characters fun. – Vicki
• Very fast. Finished it. Woohoo! Enjoyed it! – Tami
• This book held my interest and I thought it was very cute and fun. I found myself telling people it was so French and cute which intrigued them. – Danica

Comments:
• This is it? That was what this all built up to? I was so disappointed. – Danica
• I didn’t like anything about this book. I think the contradictions were meant to be clever or funny but I didn’t find them so. – Steph
• I usually like odd books like this, but I found that I just did not care. None of the characters were relatable. – Sarah
• Really hard to get into and follow. First half was slow and boring. I finally got interested toward the end, but overall not impressed. – Carrie
• I agree with Carrie, the first half just plodded along and I didn’t think the payoff was worth it. I think it is probably more successful as a podcast. – Chelsea

We did things a little differently in choosing the rest of the year’s books. We each brought in a few choices on our to read lists and then each dispersed 5 votes for the 5 books we wanted to read the most. Here are the results.

Comments:
• I read this in high school and was so excited to re-read it. It did not disappoint! – Carrie
• It was a very interesting book. Well written, through at times a bit too detailed. – Kerry
• I read this book every few years. It is always really good and interesting. I wish the author would do an update based on the most recent outbreaks. – Sarah
• I though this was so very interesting. I learned a lot – glad to have read this. – Steph
• I loved this and found it infinitely interesting, especially in light of the latest outbreak in the last few years. It made me think about a much larger picture of our viral past and our overpopulated future. – Danica

Comments:
• Most of the story I just didn’t care. It could have been way shorter. – Sarah
• I enjoyed the story. By the end of the Fates story I was interested to read the Furies. – Kerry
• I was indifferent to most of it and just wanted to make it through to the end. The prose getting real tricky and then going in and out really bothered me. The main idea that stuck with me was that of a creative partnership and what lengths you will go to for your partner to be successful. – Danica
• I only read half and couldn’t understand why it was so one-sided. Then, I got to the Mathilde part – but by that time I didn’t care! – Steph
• I agree with the previous statements. In the beginning I just didn’t care. Then I didn’t like them and I didn’t care. But I was drawn in enough to finish. – Carrie
• Some shining moments with language and imagery, I really enjoyed the plays. Not a lot to like in the characters. – Chelsea

Comments:
• The start was a little slow and the end was abrupt, but I really enjoyed the middle. – Sarah
• I liked the book, interesting concept and easy to read. Thought the author managed the 2 story lines well. However, I didn’t really like or relate to the characters. – Carrie
• An interesting take on the Freaky Friday paradigm. I liked the concept and some of the execution but I enjoyed his other books way more. – Danica
• I was surprised that the book really ended growing on me; especially the characters. I thought the writing was really compelling. – Chelsea
• It kept me interested enough to read to the end, but I like Brenner’s other books better by far. – Kerry

Comments:
• I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Some parts were not great but overall the book was good. – Sarah
• I am enjoying it. Not finished. – Tami
• Really enjoyed reading this familiar topic with a new perspective. – Kerry
• Really enjoyed getting to know these characters so well. I like the layout of the book and the story. – Carrie
• I liked this story and the structure of the writing. I could have done without the epilogue but I enjoyed how the characters collided. – Danica

Comments:
• Couldn’t get into it. – Carrie
• Tried – couldn’t get into it. – Tami
• I did not love it as a whole, but there was small parts here and there that I really liked. – Sarah
• There were elements about the world that Dick builds that I really liked and only one of the story lines I felt was compelling. I understood their place in setting up the story but I still couldn’t fully become engrossed. – Danica

14 years!!! As has been the tradition, we had our annual holiday/birthday party plus a book club discussion, complete with gift exchange and our annual photo. Thanks ladies for making it another great year!

0 Loved It
3 Liked It
0 Neutral
3 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I love her writing style and once I got used to the fact that this is really vignettes and not a story, I really enjoyed it. – Danica
• It was really boring and did not draw me in. – Sarah
• I remember reading this in high school. Didn’t like it then, didn’t like it now. – Tami
• I really like her writing style and I always enjoy short stories. Felt like reading long poems. – Steph
• I read it, but did not get engaged or see any point to the story. Easy read though. – Carrie
• I liked the vignette format. Wonderful writing. – Kerry

Comments:
• The story dragged and there were too many characters, but I was brought right back to my childhood reading her writing again. – Kerry
• I was really looking forward to reading the book as Judy Blume was one of my favorite authors growing up. The book fell short of my expectations. Too many characters and they had no appeal. Could have been shorter, very slow. – Vicki
• This was a marathon with no payoff for me. It went on and on about a story I was once excited about until I actually read it… – Danica
• Another book I finished. It was an easy read. Hard to follow at first, with so many characters. But, I enjoyed her writing as a kid and it felt nice reading her writing again. – Tami
• I was really boring and I just did not care. – Sarah